From Zero to Hero: Kevin Bailey stuns State Champ Weakley 8-4 

It never ceases to amaze me.

“Conventional Wisdom” is something that wrestling fans follow almost like a religion- there are certain thing, at the start of the year, that are simply taken for granted. Deviate from the “C.W.”, and just watch as the insults rain down like a snow-belt blizzard.  “John Weakley will lose to Kevin Bailey.”  Someone who posted that on any wrestling forum in November would have been labeled an imbecile, or worse, a “troll”.  That person would become an instant forum pariah.  So great would be the loss of credibility that they might have to assume a different “handle”.  The Admin of OWS might just block their IP Address- to ensure that nothing so dumb would be posted on his forum again. 

And yet, every year, I am somehow surprised, though I should know better, when the actual results make a mockery of our devotion to the almighty Conventional Wisdom.  Let’s put it in perspective:  At the beginning of the season, Ohio Wrestling Site’s decision to rank Colt Sponseller ahead of John Weakley in the “Senior Power Rankings” was blasted by many.  It was never even remotely contemplated that John Weakley could be challenged by anyone in Ohio not named Honeycutt (once Robertson decided not to compete and Srock went to 215).  It certainly wasn’t remotely contemplated that Walsh Jesuit’s 171 from last year, coming off an 11-12 record, would be a challenger to Weakley. At that time, Kevin Bailey was best known as “Dave Rella’s drill partner”.  By contrast, this year was supposed to be more of a coronation that a competition for the Ohio State recruit, a double junior national All-American from CVCA. 

And yet, at the Twinsburg Sectional, junior Kevin Bailey of Walsh took the fight to Weakley all six minutes, culminating in Bailey casting down the state champion with a late third period bear-hug that seemed to shake the entire gymnasium.  Immediately afterward, Bailey threw in the “boots”, as Weakley, seemingly gassed, had no answer.  Bailey pushed Weakley’s head into the mat a few times in the closing seconds, seemingly to send the message “see you next week, this has only just begun.”  Do not be surprised if Bailey-Weakley is the final for two more Saturdays. 

“I told you, I told you!” exclaimed Walsh Assistant Chris Deshon as he and Bailey came off the mat.  Deshon had predicted to me shortly before the match that this would be the District and State Final as well, and sort of “hinted” that I should not be surprised if Bailey could pull out a win or two in the series.  Bailey, 0-2 at Firestone last year, is hands-down the most improved wrestler in this state.  Deshon had this to say about Bailey’s seeming metamorphosis. “It’s truly a testament to hard work. His goal is to be a state champion, and he knows the road to a state title goes through John Weakley.” 

Since taking over from the embattled duo of Clint Musser and Sonny Marchette this season, Bill Barger and Chris Deshon seem to be on the path to resurrecting the once-elite Walsh Program to its previous heights.  There are about a half-dozen wrestlers (mostly underclassmen) that you had never heard of at the start of the year, that have inched their way into the state rankings.   As Deshon put it “we are a completely different team than we were at the start of the season.”   The fact that Walsh was able to finish 2nd in this loaded Sectional (behind Ravenna, and ahead of CVCA and St. Vincent-St. Mary’s) demonstrated their improvement. 

Reedy Rolls On

(above):#1 Ranked Matt Reedy of Ravenna has become a sentimental favorite after two years of bad luck at Firestone.  Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

With all the great wrestlers competing in this Sectional, the best I saw of the night was almost certainly Matt Reedy of Ravenna.  Reedy’s story by now is well-known.  A state qualifier as a freshman, he was slowed by injury as a sophomore at Firestone, and last year, fell victim to bizarre circumstances at the District meet.  After losing a heartbreaker- with some questionable officiating- to 3x state finalist/H.S. All-American Adam Kriwinsky in the semifinals, Reedy fell victim to a second straight comeback (perhaps the Kriwinsky match took too much out of him) as Chris Milner of Aurora rallied from a 4-0 third period deficit to defeat him in the go-to-state match (detailed account at http://www.ohiowrestlingsite.com/articles/article25.php).  The wrestler who Reedy defeated in the first round, ironically, would go on to finish fourth in the state. 

Now, in his senior season, Reedy has responded with absolutely brilliant wrestling.  This is the third tournament where I have seen him dominate in the final- the first two being Brecksville and Top Gun.  Reedy amassed an 11-1 lead before scoring a first period fall.  I spoke with Reedy about how last year’s District experience had affected him-  “it definitely motivates me.  Sometimes I just think about last year, how it felt leaving Districts…. and how I never want to feel that way again.”  The bet here is that he won’t- Reedy has earned the #1 ranking despite being in a very solid field.

Skonieczny Outfoxes Dukes

Other than perhaps Weakley-Bailey, the marquee match of the night was #2 Chase Skonieczny of Walsh Jesuit against #4 Isaac Dukes of Ravenna.  Before the match, I thought the explosiveness of Dukes could present problems for Skonieczny.  The match proved, however, to be no contest.  Dukes shot a nice fireman’s late in the first and appeared to be heading for a takedown, but Skonieczny, with his height advantage, simply “leached on” and climbed up the back for his own takedown.  It was noticeable that he was able to do this without a great deal of effort.  The tone was set for a match in which Skonieczny was simply too technically skilled for Dukes.  It was like the wiry Skonieczny was a matador at a bullfight- always aware of the danger, but always a step ahead of his foe.

The second period saw Skonieczny nearly get him self into trouble several times by trying to step over a Dukes half- an ill-advised strategy against his clearly stronger opponent.  In the end, a reversal with the “funk” in the second, and a third period “throw-by” takedown, netted Skonieczny a 6-0 win.  We will very likely see a rematch at Firestone- a match which, I think, the outstanding Dukes stands very little chance to win- his style simply does not match up well with Skonieczny’s in my view.

Ricky King Upends Richie Knotek

Outside of Bailey, the wrestler who may have made the biggest impression was Ricky King of Benedictine.  King is a returning state placer who impressed me last year at Firestone (so much that I had him #1 at the start of the season) but fell off the radar a bit as he wrestles a schedule which generates less exposure than some.  However, his match against 5th-ranked Richie Knotek at Twinsburg made me contemplate that perhaps he should have stayed at his original ranking.  In a weight class where a clear favorite has never emerged, this was a match I was very curious to see. 

What followed was a wildly-entertaining match with great scrambles, that always resulted in King capitalizing on, or simply creating opportunity.  King scored an early go-behind takedown, only for Knotek to lock up a Peterson roll for a reversal, but King avoided back points.  Another wild scramble saw Knotek in position for a spladle, but King slithered out of the hold and scored a reversal.  A near-side cradle put him up 7-2 at the end of the first.  The second period saw King ride Knotek tough, at one point almost turning him with a double arm-bar, but Knotek scored a late escape to cut the lead to 7-3.

The third period was where King really poured it on.  Knotek appeared to be headed for a spin-behind takedown, yet King just kept scrambling, and instead turned it into his own takedown and backpoints for a 12-3 lead.  King then cut Knotek, and after they went out of bounds, Knotek scored an immediate takedown in which it appeared to me that he had jumped the whistle.  King simply reversed him to his back for a 16-6 final score. 

Throughout the bout, King showed great “hips” as well as composure in scramble situations.  I think that this “icewater”  in his veins (which I also noted in his great Firestone consolation semifinal win over Chris Romeo last year), and ability to win scrambles, may be exactly what is needed to defeat the favorite du jour at this weight, Cordell Longstreath of Graham.  Do not expect a dull moment should these two match up.

Johnny Papesh defeats Eric Gray

Another match I watched with keen interest was Johnny Papesh against Eric Gray.  Papesh is, of course, a returning 3rd place state finisher currently ranked #3 in the state.  Blessed with arms that seem as though they could stretch onto the next mat, Papesh got in on an identical “hang single” shot five times, each time maintain perfect position and finishing in textbook fashion, on his way to a 10-3 lead. 

After three years, Papesh will finally match up with #1 ranked Kyle Gilchrist of Jefferson Area in the Firestone semifinals.  This match will feature a sharp contrast of styles- Gilchrist is a highly technical wrestler who is brilliant in flurries, whereas  Papesh does the “basics” flawlessly.  In my view, Gilchrist will have the edge.  Looking to key “common opponents”, Gilchrist gave #2 Kyle Lang (#1 in the OWS “State Champion Poll”) all he could handle at the Bill Dies, losing in overtime in a match that he just as easily could have won.  Papesh was pinned by Lang while trailing by a large margin.  Regardless, this will be the match that I am looking forward to in the semifinal round at Firestone.

#12 ranked Gray of Ravenna faces an interesting situation this weekend at Firestone.  So far this season he has lost three or four close matches to #10 Shelton Morris of Ravenna Southeast.  These two are on track to meet yet again in the quarterfinals Friday Night.  The stakes of the match for the senior Gray could not be higher- if he loses, he would almost certainly face either Gilchrist or Papesh in the “go-to-state match”, whereas if he wins and then loses to #5 Westfall in the semifinals, he would face one of a number of wrestlers who he would be a solid favorite against.  Throughout the match with Papesh, Gray struck me as one of these wrestlers who has more ability than confidence, seemingly opening up some great opportunities on Papesh but not quite having the confidence to pull through. 

(above): Ravenna 160 Phil Dukes found his Sectional final win to be much more to his liking than this match, a lopsided loss to Colt Sponseller. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News

125: The Madness Begins

It’s no secret that the 125 lb. class at the Firestone District is possibly the toughest District weight in the state (though anyone competing at the Perry District at 135 would surely disagree).  Nine of the top fifteen ranked wrestlers come out of this District. And yet, with state place-winners Brian Dean (#4) and Scott Meyers (#9) in the field, it was a wrestler who just recently hit the rankings, #21 Jon Konstadaros of Revere, who made the big impression.  After Meyer knocked off #12 Nevin Brown of Walsh Jesuit in the quarterfinals, Konstandaros stunned Meyer in overtime in the semis, 7-2.  In the finals, he was the clear aggressor against Dean.  Konstandaros switched off a single into a double for a late first period takedown.  Both wrestlers took neutral when it was their choice, and Dean seemed content to tie up and take half-shots until very late in the third, when he finally seemed to come to life.  A Dean shot (his first real one of the bout) in the last :20 seconds sent the match into overtime. In the overtime stanza  Dean shot another single which gave him the win at the buzzer.  Though the Revere faithful hated the call- it was the correct one in my view. 

Dean is coming off several surprising losses to Chris Romeo and an 11-0 loss to Jan Ulinski- and did not look anything like the Brian Dean I have seen in the past.  Though he is a returning Firestone Champion, he is going to need to bring his “A-Game” if he wants to qualify in this treacherous weight.  Dean was fortunate enough to receive what can only be described as a “dream draw”, not having a single ranked opponent in his quarter-bracket (as compared to Konstandaros, who has seven ranked wrestlers in his half-bracket).  Konstandaros, meanwhile, established himself as yet another bona-fide contender at Firestone (he also has a recent win over Division I #8 Dustin Crine).

TWINSBURG DIVISION II SECTIONAL

Team Results--1. Ravenna 220; 2. Walsh Jesuit 193; 3. CVCA 187.5; 4. St. Vincent-St. Mary 167; 5. Aurora 142; 6. Cleveland Benedictine 103.5; 7. Copley 96.5; 8. Revere 83.5; 9. Crestwood 80; 10. Tallmadge 64.5; 11. Streetsboro 46.5; 12. Chagrin Falls 37.

Championship Round

103--Scavuzzo (Rev.) dec. Mitch (Aur.), 12-6. 112--Papesh (Aur.) dec. Gray (Rav.), 10-3. 119--King (Ben.) maj. dec. Knotek (WJ), 16-6. 125--Dean (SVSM) dec. Konstandaras (Rev.), 4-2 (OT). 130--Skonieczny (WJ) dec. Dukes (Rav.), 6-0. 135--Dittrich (Cop.) dec. Sciortino (WJ), 5-0. 140--Reedy (Rav.) pin Ward (Ben.), 1:42. 145--Windom (CVCA) dec. Painter (Aur.), 8-4. 152--Kusar (CVCA) maj. dec. Tate (SVSM), 12-1. 160--Dukes (Rav.) dec. Walker (Cop.), 9-4. 171--Sinchok (CVCA) default Cheatham (WJ). 189--Bailey (WJ) dec. Weakley (CVCA), 8-4. 215--Srock (SVSM) dec. Oddo (CVCA), 12-5. 285--Hager (Rav.) pin Robiskie (CF), :53.

Third Place

103--Vargo (SVSM) dec. Carpenter (Rav.), 4:36. 112--Sommers (CVCA) dec. Montoney (WJ), 1-0. 119--Jordan (Rav.) pin Dolan (SVSM), 1:44. 125--Meyer (Rav.) dec. Brown (Tal.), 2-0. 130--Hickin (CVCA) maj. dec. Henderson (Ben.), 9-0. 135--Ursetti (Tal.) dec. Dozanti (Rav.), 2-1. 140--Hickin (CVCA) dec. Hurley (WJ), 7-5. 145--Block (Cre.) dec. Lee (SVSM), 7-5 (OT). 152--Karaffa (Rav.) dec. Davidoff (Aur.), 5-4. 160--Jastal (Cre.) dec. Hojnacki (CVCA), 3-2. 171--Donze (Tal.) dec. Fadoul (Aur.), 5-2. 189--Thompson (Tal.) dec. Sarnicki (Cop.), 5-1. 215--Twarek (Aur.) pin Wolff (Rev.), 2:27. 285--Hawkins (Cre.) dec. Ciraldo (WJ), 2-1.

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